Princess Cristina charged in Nóos case

Infanta Cristina

PALMA DE MALLORCA The investigative judge leading the Nóos corruption case that involves the King's son-in-law, José Castro, this morning charged his wife, Infanta (Princess) Cristina, who must appear in court to make a statement on April 27. The matter comes about a week after the royal son-on-law's former partner, Diego Torres, produced evidence of the princess's involvement in the company. Several of the e-mails brought in by Torres, dated February 20 2003, shows that Iñaki Urdangarín, Duke of Palma, sent his wife information about matters pertaining to the daily business of the Nóos Institurte, a supposedly non-profit company of which the royal couple were directors and which is at the centre of the scandal. This, after Urdangarín said that his wife knew 'nothing at all' about the company's daily dealings. (See also: Son-in-law asked King to lean on Bernie Ecclestone)

King Juan Carlos to visit Algeciras on June 20 to support Guardia Civil

 Photo: chronicle.gi

Visit is also in response to Prince Edward's visit to Gibraltar

ALGECIRAS King Juan Carlos I is scheduled to visit Algeciras next Wednesday, June 20, to show his support for the Spanish Guardia Civil patrol boats that protect the fishing vessels in the waters close to Gibraltar. He will be visiting the GC Command Centre and later receive the town's insignia from Mayor José Ignacio Landaluce. Another purpose of the royal visit, according to the Spanish media, is to respond in kind to the visit Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex are making to the Rock as we write. The British royal visit has provoked much irritation in Spain, where the government has called it inappropriate, given the situation regarding the dispute over territorial waters that both countries claim as theirs. The last time the King was in Algeciras was in 1990, when he opened a Maersk container terminal that carries his name. (The photo shows an image of the Queen projected onto the North Face of the Rock last night, which could be seen across the Bay of Algeciras.)

Gibraltar embraces Prince Edward and Sophie

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle by Alice Mascarenhas)  Royal fever hit Gibraltar yesterday as thousands took to the heart of town to greet and meet their Royal Highnesses the Earl and Countess of Wessex, here as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. At noon, on the dot, Prince Edward and Countess Sophie arrived on the British Airways flight, just as the Rock heard its second 21 Gun Salute of the day, fired by Thomson’s Battery of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. (Read the full story here.)

Queen cancels trip to London in protest about Gibraltar fishing rights

(Photo: hola.com)

SPAIN/GIBRALTAR/UK (Agencies) Queen Sofía has cancelled a planned trip to London, originally scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, as part of Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee celebrations, at a luncheon at Windsor hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip. The Spanish Government deemed the visit 'inappropriate' given the present conflict between Spain and Britain over the rights of Spanish fishermen in the waters around Gibraltar. This is added to the three-day visit by Prince Edward planned for June 11. Diplomatic sources have said that the conflict was reopened after discussions between the Gibraltar Government and fishing representatives broke down last week. A third reason for the Spanish Government to advise the Royal Household to cancel Queen Sofía's visit to London, is the fact that the Royal Gibraltar Regiment is scheduled to play music in London as part of the Jubilee celebrations. Buckingham Palace was advised of the cancellation but has made no comment, the same position also being taken by the Foreign Office.

King and grandson shoot themselves in the foot: media goes ballistic

Father and son

MADRID First, the King's grandson, Felipe Juan Froilán, 13, son of his eldest daughter, the Infanta Elena, and her estranged husband, Jaime de Marichalar, shot himself in the foot last week. Then King Juan Carlos fell over and broke his hip during a private visit to Botswana, where he went out for a shoot over the weekend. Both of these have caused considerable excitement in the Spanish media. The first incident had the boy's father telling the Guardia Civil that the accident happened while they were practicing with guns. Then Marichalar changed his story, saying that it had happened while they were cleaning and putting away their guns. The GC investigated the incident and came to the conclusion that it was indeed an accident, which makes the father liable to a fine of up to €3,000 and the removal of his guns and licences for a period of up to a year - children under 14 are not allowed to handle guns in Spain. Felipe Juan Froilán was released from hospital with a bandaged right foot, while his mother, the King's daughter, is reported to have been less than pleased. The second royal incident happened PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ITEMS SUCH AS THIS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSCRIPTION IN THE FUTURE but you can make a donation NOW, too! Please click here for more information on how to help us continue. (This item was researched, written and edited using several sources; this took some 50 minutes)>>>

Royal son-in-law formally accused of corruption

Iñaki Urdangarín, Duke of Palma

The King's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarín, is embroiled in a corruption case involving public finds (See Royal household allegedly involved in corruption scandal). New revelations in the case say that he negotiated contracts with members of the Balearic Popular Party (PP) at Marivent Palace, the royal family's holiday home in Mallorca. The Duke of Palma -his official title- is married to Infanta (Princess) Cristina, King Juan Carlos's youngest daughter: he is formally accused of misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement and administrative fraud through tourist-sports conventions organized by his supposedly non-profit Nóos Institute and is scheduled to appear in court on February 25th. The alleged misconduct was discovered when investigators looking into the Palma Arena case that involved a sports complex that ran over budget by some €65 million. The media are now reporting that the King urged his son-in-law to straighten things out as long ago as last March, but Urdangarín carried on operating via the foundation until after that, even though he was no longer part of its organization. Monies were allegedly 'diverted' to accounts in Belize and London, among other places, by the Duke and his business partner Diego Torres, to the tune of €5.2 million.

King's Christmas speech - reactions

(Photo: casareal.es)

MADRID His Majesty King Juan Carlos gave his traditional Christmas speech at 9pm on Christmas Eve (which is when most Spaniards are sitting at the table for their celebration). It was watched by 7.16 million people, according to the ratings. Most of the reactions by politicians and the media refer to the fact that the speech included a reference to the Royal Household's problems with the King's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarín, who is being investigated for 'deviating public funds' and has been 'demoted' from Royal appearances and found a job in the US. Practically the only criticism of the speech is that there was too little reference to the fact that the terrorist group ETA says it has abandoned 'violence'. There was, certainly, much referring to the economy and how 'we must all pull together in the same direction' (not HM's words, just our conclusion).

Prince Edward and Sophie to visit Gibraltar in Diamond Jubilee Year

GIBRALTAR (Press release) The Government has received the news of next year’s Royal Visit to Gibraltar with great satisfaction. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo says the announcement by Buckingham Palace that the Earl and Countess of Wessex will come to Gibraltar to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be welcomed with tremendous pride and joy by the Gibraltarians. Although the timing of the visit has yet to be announced, preparations will soon commence to ensure the Royal Visit is a memorable event for the Royal Couple and everyone on the Rock, says a Government press release dated yesterday. In another communique the Governor, Sir Adrian Johns, also welcomed the announcement by Buckingham Palace.>>>

Royal household allegedly involved in corruption scandal

SPAIN (Agencies) The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor for the Balearic Islands asserts that the Duke of Palma, Iñaki Urdangarín, and his partner Diego Torres set up a 'framework of companies' in order to 'take possession' of public and private monies received by the Nós Institute, a non-profit organization that both of them presided. This, at any rate is what it says in documents in the legal proceedings headed by José Castro, the judge in charge of investigations into the so-called Palma Arena case. Several searches of the network of companies have already been carried out in the case, as well as at Torres's home. The judge is now studying the possibility of formally accusing Urdangarín through the court in Palma de Mallorca. In his court  records, Castro, says he is investigating the Duke and Torres for>>>

The Infanta Leonor is six today

SPAIN She is the heir to the heir of the Spanish throne. Leonor is the oldest daughter of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, and as such, second in line behind her father. But also in line, with her upbringing, there has been no special celebration except a small private party consisting mainly of her school friends. The Royal Palace (Palacio de la Zarzuela) has another occasion this week, just two days away on November 2, when Queen Sofía celebrates her 73 birthday. The little princess is very popular, especially with the press, who are careful to avoid over-exposing her in the media. Today, though, is an exception.

'The dorks of York' is the title to Sancho's latest

Our good friend Sancho, at Tilting at Windmills, has written a critical article about The Wedding - well, about a couple of the guests ... The York sisters, Beatrice and Eugenie have been the subject of many an unfavourable article in the world's media, and not exclusively related to The Wedding. In fact, they are relatively frequent visitors to Sotogrande, as is their mother, the Duchess of Fergie. We even published something ourselves, which you can see here. There isn't very much one can say about those hats, though, is there? Except we're glad they're way down on the succession ladder...

Huge profits for Moroccan royal family's holdings

King Mohammed VI

MOROCCO (Agencies & GibChronicle) National Investment Co. (SNI), about 60% of which is owned by Siger, the royal family's several investment companies, made a consolidated net profit of 8.28 billion dirhams ($1.06 billion) in 2010, up from 2.38 billion in 2009, according to financial statements published over the weekend in Le Matin, one of Morocco's most pro-establishment newspapers. SNI's assets and turnover rose more than fourfold to 102.6 billion dirhams and 14.08 billion respectively in 2010, aginst 22.53 billion dirhams and 3.43 billion in 2009. Based on the latest growth forecasts, Morocco's 2010 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should stand at 761.6 billion dirhams. SNI gave no explanation for its performance in 2010.>

Spanish royals 'expenses are uncontrolled', Brits subject to Brown's 'transparency'

If there are no impediments, The Independent will soon be publishing over 100 letters written between Buckingham Palace and the British Government, all referring to the need for a raise among British royals. This would be impossible in Spain as the Royal Household here is not obliged to divulge its accounts, or even to account for its expenses. However, King Juan Carlos is to 'earn' €8.896.920 this year, with which to keep his family and homes. It is the same amount as his household received last year. Nevertheless, there are calls for his accounts to be 'more transparent' from several left-leaning politicians andparties, who say, "Trying to find out how this public money is spent is like hitting a brick wall."